MORAL, COGNITIVE, SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT & LANGUAGE
ACQUISITION
PSYCHOLOGY SUMMARY NOTES
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
KOHLBERG
Kohlberg (1969,1971), who built of Piaget’s theoretical work, proposed that there are 3 main
levels of moral reasoning, each with 2 distinct stages.
He argued that these stages are universal and hierarchical; with each stage following from
the preceding one. However, he did not say that everyone reaches the final stage. In fact,
most people will never reach the post-conventional stage.
• PRE-CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
At pre-conventional level, which equates to Piaget’s sensorimotor stage roughly, children
look at the consequences of an action when ‘assessing’ its moral worth.
This type of reasoning is evident in elementary school children and in some early adolescents
as well.
• The 1st STAGE of this level is known as PUNISHMENT & OBEDIENCE ORIENTATION
If the child gets punished, the behaviour is morally wrong, if he/she does not get punished,
the behaviour is right.
• The 2nd STAGE is the INSTRUMENTAL RELATIVIST/ REWARD ORIENTATION
Rightness amounts to ‘what feels good’, ‘what brings pleasurable outcomes. Concern for
others is evident at this stage, but only in a form of ‘If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’.
Rules are followed as long as this benefits the child. Moral judgements are based on personal
gains.
• CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
1
,At conventional level, which corresponds to Piaget’s formal operational, that is, final stage,
an individual’s moral judgements are based on norms and rules held by groups the person
belongs to.
This type of moral reasoning is dominant in middle and late adolescence, in fact it is the most
common type in adulthood as well.
• The 3rd STAGE is called the INTERPERSONAL CONCORDANCE/ ‘GOOD BOY-NICE GIRL’
ORIENTATION
People define right and wrong in terms of what pleases their family members, friends etc.
The major motivating factor in regard to moral behaviour is social approval from those
closest to them. Intentions and motives will also start to play a part in determining the moral
worth of an act. Someone might have done something that has bad consequences, but if
he/she did not mean to cause harm, it is seen as less serious than if he/she did it wilfully.
• The 4th STAGE is known as LAW & ORDER ORIENTATION or social system and
conscience stage.
Here morally right actions are defined by society. Laws and regulations should be followed.
It is more duty-based.
• POST-CONVENTIONAL STAGE
At the post-conventional level, people have principled morality, which means that they
consider abstract ethical principles and move beyond what is consistent with broader cultural
norms. People think about freedom, justice, perhaps might even argue that what is legal may
not be morally right or what is illegal might not be wrong. Kohlberg argued that only people,
who have achieved formal operational thought are capable of making post-conventional
moral judgements, since these require abstract thinking. Only a small percentage of people
reach this stage.
• The 5th STAGE is called the SOCIAL CONTRACT (& UTILITY) ORIENTATION
Laws and rules are still seen as very important, however, they can be questioned, ignored or
challenged if they do not support public welfare.
• The 6th STAGE is known as the ETHICAL PRINCIPLE ORIENTATION
2
, An individual’s actions are guided by self-chosen moral principles.
• Piaget suggested that moral development is completed at around the age of 10. One
of the strengths of Kohlberg’s theory is that it recognizes that moral development
continues throughout life. His theory is sequential; with each stage following from the
preceding one. According to him, this order is universal and invariant. He also
hypothesized that individuals ought not to move backward through stages, only
upward. Some empirical evidence (Colby et al. 1983, Snarey et al. 1985) does suggest
that the developmental stages occur in the same order as Kohlberg had proposed.
• HOWEVER, Nantel-Vivier et al. (2009) reported that levels of prosocial tendencies
declined from late childhood to mid-adolescence in many cases. Adolescents may
regress back to hedonistic level of moral reasoning.
• Kohlberg’s research has been accused of androcentricity. All his participants were
boys. The issue of morality was approached from a male perspective. Gillian (1982)
criticized Kohlberg’s theory for being male-centred. She contended that girls and
boys employ different standards of rightness. According to her, males have a justice
perspective. Right and wrong are defined based on laws and formal rules. Females
have a care perspective. They take personal relationships into account when judging
a situation. However, both girls and boys are familiar with both orientations. Walker
(1991) argued that the moral orientation is determined not so much by gender but
the nature of the dilemma. Turiel (1998) argued that both men and women use both
orientations to approach and resolve moral dilemmas.
• It has also been argued that Kohlberg underestimated young children’s moral
reasoning abilities. Some research studies (Hamlin, Wynn & Bloom, 2007; Hamlin &
Wynn, 2011; Hart et al. 2003) have demonstrated that young children’s moral
understanding is much more sophisticated than Kohlberg’s theory suggested.
Eisenberg (1982, 1986) also argued that younger children do concern themselves with
the needs of others, although in the simplest terms (primitive empathy).
3
ACQUISITION
PSYCHOLOGY SUMMARY NOTES
MORAL DEVELOPMENT
KOHLBERG
Kohlberg (1969,1971), who built of Piaget’s theoretical work, proposed that there are 3 main
levels of moral reasoning, each with 2 distinct stages.
He argued that these stages are universal and hierarchical; with each stage following from
the preceding one. However, he did not say that everyone reaches the final stage. In fact,
most people will never reach the post-conventional stage.
• PRE-CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
At pre-conventional level, which equates to Piaget’s sensorimotor stage roughly, children
look at the consequences of an action when ‘assessing’ its moral worth.
This type of reasoning is evident in elementary school children and in some early adolescents
as well.
• The 1st STAGE of this level is known as PUNISHMENT & OBEDIENCE ORIENTATION
If the child gets punished, the behaviour is morally wrong, if he/she does not get punished,
the behaviour is right.
• The 2nd STAGE is the INSTRUMENTAL RELATIVIST/ REWARD ORIENTATION
Rightness amounts to ‘what feels good’, ‘what brings pleasurable outcomes. Concern for
others is evident at this stage, but only in a form of ‘If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours’.
Rules are followed as long as this benefits the child. Moral judgements are based on personal
gains.
• CONVENTIONAL LEVEL
1
,At conventional level, which corresponds to Piaget’s formal operational, that is, final stage,
an individual’s moral judgements are based on norms and rules held by groups the person
belongs to.
This type of moral reasoning is dominant in middle and late adolescence, in fact it is the most
common type in adulthood as well.
• The 3rd STAGE is called the INTERPERSONAL CONCORDANCE/ ‘GOOD BOY-NICE GIRL’
ORIENTATION
People define right and wrong in terms of what pleases their family members, friends etc.
The major motivating factor in regard to moral behaviour is social approval from those
closest to them. Intentions and motives will also start to play a part in determining the moral
worth of an act. Someone might have done something that has bad consequences, but if
he/she did not mean to cause harm, it is seen as less serious than if he/she did it wilfully.
• The 4th STAGE is known as LAW & ORDER ORIENTATION or social system and
conscience stage.
Here morally right actions are defined by society. Laws and regulations should be followed.
It is more duty-based.
• POST-CONVENTIONAL STAGE
At the post-conventional level, people have principled morality, which means that they
consider abstract ethical principles and move beyond what is consistent with broader cultural
norms. People think about freedom, justice, perhaps might even argue that what is legal may
not be morally right or what is illegal might not be wrong. Kohlberg argued that only people,
who have achieved formal operational thought are capable of making post-conventional
moral judgements, since these require abstract thinking. Only a small percentage of people
reach this stage.
• The 5th STAGE is called the SOCIAL CONTRACT (& UTILITY) ORIENTATION
Laws and rules are still seen as very important, however, they can be questioned, ignored or
challenged if they do not support public welfare.
• The 6th STAGE is known as the ETHICAL PRINCIPLE ORIENTATION
2
, An individual’s actions are guided by self-chosen moral principles.
• Piaget suggested that moral development is completed at around the age of 10. One
of the strengths of Kohlberg’s theory is that it recognizes that moral development
continues throughout life. His theory is sequential; with each stage following from the
preceding one. According to him, this order is universal and invariant. He also
hypothesized that individuals ought not to move backward through stages, only
upward. Some empirical evidence (Colby et al. 1983, Snarey et al. 1985) does suggest
that the developmental stages occur in the same order as Kohlberg had proposed.
• HOWEVER, Nantel-Vivier et al. (2009) reported that levels of prosocial tendencies
declined from late childhood to mid-adolescence in many cases. Adolescents may
regress back to hedonistic level of moral reasoning.
• Kohlberg’s research has been accused of androcentricity. All his participants were
boys. The issue of morality was approached from a male perspective. Gillian (1982)
criticized Kohlberg’s theory for being male-centred. She contended that girls and
boys employ different standards of rightness. According to her, males have a justice
perspective. Right and wrong are defined based on laws and formal rules. Females
have a care perspective. They take personal relationships into account when judging
a situation. However, both girls and boys are familiar with both orientations. Walker
(1991) argued that the moral orientation is determined not so much by gender but
the nature of the dilemma. Turiel (1998) argued that both men and women use both
orientations to approach and resolve moral dilemmas.
• It has also been argued that Kohlberg underestimated young children’s moral
reasoning abilities. Some research studies (Hamlin, Wynn & Bloom, 2007; Hamlin &
Wynn, 2011; Hart et al. 2003) have demonstrated that young children’s moral
understanding is much more sophisticated than Kohlberg’s theory suggested.
Eisenberg (1982, 1986) also argued that younger children do concern themselves with
the needs of others, although in the simplest terms (primitive empathy).
3
